Pouch type golf ball cleaner having a washable inner lining



Nov. 21, 1950 K. w TH RBY 2,530,746

POUCH TYPE GOLF BALL CLEANER HAVING A WASHABLE INNER LINING Filed Jan.2, 194'? )NVE/VTOR J'OHN K. WETHERBY A TTORNEVS latented Nov. 21, 1950UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE r POUCH TYPE GOLF BALL CLEANER HAVING 1 AWASHABLE INNER LINING This invention relates to golf ball cleaners.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a simple andeffective pouch-type golf ball cleaner that can be carried by a golferin his pocket and which can be quickly and easily used at any time bythe golfer as he travels over the golf course to effectively clean golfballs.

Another object is to provide a leak-proof golf ball cleaning pouchincluding an outer casing formed of flexible waterproof material and aninner lining formed of such a material as heavy toweling, the innerlining being so attached to the outer casing that preparatory to use themajor part of it may be pulled out of the outer casing, wetted, wrungout, and reinserted in the outer casing, and as the occasion arises forcleaning a golf ball, the pouch, which will normally be carried in thepocket of the golfer, can be brought out and a golf ball can be insertedin the pouch and Worked back and forth against the wetted liner tothoroughly and effectively clean the ball without producing any abrasiveaction on the outer surface of the ball that might tend to destroy theglazed enamel surface usually found on the golf ball.

A further object is to provide such a pouch as referred to in theparagraph immediately above, including a continuous down-turned flangeat the mouth of the outer casing which will normally overlie the lineradjacent the mouth of the pouch, the flange acting in conjunction withthe wall of the casing adjacent the mouth of the pouch to prevent theseepage of water from the pouch as it is carried in the pocket of thegolfer.

A further object is to provide such a pouch as above referred to whereinthe material forming the outer casing of the pouch is made slightlytacky so that the inner portion of the outer casing will frictionallygrip the lining to prevent relative movement between the lining and theouter casing as a golf ball is worked back and forth in the pouch, theouter surface of the outer casing being also preferably made s1ight- 1ytacky so that, as the pouch is gripped by the fingers of the golfer, theouter casing and lining will move together with the fingers of thegolfer as the pouch is manipulated to clean the golf ball.

The objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear fromthe following description made in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like reference charac ters refer to the same or similarparts through out the various views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a golf ball cleaning pouch embodying theinvention showing the mouth of the pouch open and a golf ball disposedwithin the pouch;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the pouch;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the pouch with a golf balltherein, portions of the near walls of the outer casing and inner liningof the pouch being broken away to better show he constructicn and aportion of the far wall of the lining being broken away to better showthe construction of the outer casing of the pouch;

Fig. i is a perspective view showing the major portion of the innerlining withdrawn from the casing of the pouch as it will be pulled. outfor wetting and wringing;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing the manner in which the outercasing is sewed at its top por tion and showing how the inner lining isattached to the normally inturned flange of the outer casing;

Fig. 6 is a view looking toward the upper portion of one end of thepouch, the outer layer of the upper portion of the outer casing beingbroken away to show the notched construction of the inwardly projectingflange of the pouch; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken through the upper portionof a slightly modified type of pouch.

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5inclusive, the golf ball cleaning device of the invention is in the formof a flexible open-mouthed pouch including an outer casing A and aninner lining B. The outer casing A is preferably formed of rubberizedwaterproof fabric much on the order of that fabric which is used ashospital sheeting.

I. havefound that a very successful rubberized fabric that may be usedfor the purpose is a neo rene-coated fabric. The outer casing A forms anelongated oven-mouthed bag and may be conveniently made by employing arectangular sheet of rubberized fabric, bending edge portions of thesheeting inwardly along fold lines I 3 ends of the casing A triangularnotches 19 are cut in the normally outer layer of the flange ill as bestseen in Fig. 6. A line of stitching H is employed for securing togetherortions of the rubberized cloth adjacent the upper edge of the outercasing A while another line of stitching I2 is employed for securingtogether the two thicknesses of the material forming the flange [0.After the stitching aforementioned has been sewed, rubber cement I3 isapplied along the seams and stitching of the outer casing so as to sealand waterproof the stitched portions of the casing. It should be statedthat the outer casing is formed in turned inside-out condition andthereafter is is turned right side out so that the seams are concealedand the continuous flange ID projects downwardly from the mouth portionof the outer casing.

Before the outer casing A is made up or at any time during the processof making it, the rubberized sheeting is treated on both sides as withbenzol to make it slightly tacky for a purpose presently to appear.

The lining B is made preferably from a heavy toweling such as thatcommonly used for wash cloths. This heavy toweling is made up into anelongated open-topped bag of such size as to snugly fit within the outercasing A. To secure the lining bag B to the outer casing A, the flange Iis pulled outwardly to about the position shown in Fig. 4, whereupon theinner lining bag B having been turned inside out, the mouth portion ofthe inner lining bag is brought into the mouth portion of the outercasing A, and the mouth portion of the inner lining bag is secured tothe flange H] as by a continuous double line of stitching M as best seenin Fig. 5. If desired, cooperating half snap fasteners l5 and I6respectively of the male and female type may be secured to oppositeportions of the flange it. After the parts have been thus assembled, theflange I0 is turned in and the inner lining bag B is turned and insertedin the outer casing A to line the same. The bag is then ready for use bya golfer.

Preparatory to going out on the golf course,

' the golfer W111 pull out the major portion of the inner lining B ofthe bag to the position shown in Fig. 4 and will then wet the innerlining B with water. He will then wring out the excess water from theinner lining so that, while the inner lining remains quite damp, therewill be little or no free water carried by the inner lining which is notabsorbed by the capillary action of the towelingmaterial forming thislining. This wetting and wringing of the inner lining is quite importantto the functioning of the device to give the inner lining adequatemoisture without such excess moisture as to cause wetting of theclothing of the golfer when the pouch is carried in the pocket. Havingwetted and wrung out the inner lining, the entire inner lining isreinserted in the outer casing A, and of course the flange H3 isinturned, and if desired, the snap fasteners l5 and it may be engaged.The pouch will be carried in the golfers pocket, and the outer casing Abeing waterproof will prevent wetting of the clothing of the golfer. Theflange It being a continuous flange at the mouth of the bag will overliethe upper portion of the inner lining B, and this flange acting with theupper portion of the exterior part of the casing A will act as a troughto prevent moisture from exuding from the open mouth of the bag.

When the golfer wishes to clean a golf ball, the

two half snap fasteners l5 and I6, if engaged,

may be disengaged and a golf ball will then be inserted in the pouch.The golf ball being held by one hand and the outer portion of the pouchbeing held by the other hand, the golf ball can be worked back and forthagainst the moistened inner lining B to clean any soiled portions of theball. Or if it is preferred to clean the ball by holding the bagentirely from the outside, the ball can be worked back and forth by thefingers of the golfer by the golfer merely engaging the outer casing ofthe bag. In view of the fact that the outer casing A is slightly tacky,it will frictionally engage the outer surfaces of the inner lining B sothat relative movement of the inner lining and the outer casing will beprevented as the golf ball is manipulated. In other words, the innerlining will cling to the outer casing. Also as the outer surface of theouter casing A is slightly tacky, it will provide a convenient grip sothat the fingers of the golfer will not slip on the outer casing as thegolf ball is manipulated and cleaned. Inasmuch as no abrasive isemployed for cleaning the ball, the outer shiny surface of the ballproduced by the enameling of the ball during its manufacture will not begiven an abrasive action to dull the luster of this surface as is thecase when an abrasive type of cleaner such as a brush is employed.

It is important that the inner lining B be secured to the flange of theouter casing A and be secured to this casing at no other point in orderthat the major portion of the lining B may be pulled out of the outercasing A for wetting and wringing. Only by wetting and wringing theinner lining A can the lining be given the proper moisture content forcleaning of the golf balls without applying so much water to the pouchthat water will exude therefrom when the pouch is being carried in thepocket.

In Fig. 7 a slightly modified form of the device is shown wherein theinner lining C there shown is applied to the outer casing D bycooperating snap fasteners it and il attached to the edge portions ofthe casing C and to the flange l8 of the outer casing .D respectively.Otherwise the pouch shown in F 6 is similarly formed to the pouchpreviously described. In the case of the pouch shown in Fig. 7, bydetaching the snap fasteners l5 and ll the inner lining C may be removedfrom the outer casing D whereupon a new inner lining C be attached andthus it is possible to replace the inner lining when it be-- comes wornor badly soiled.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in theform, details, ar rangement, and proportion of the various parts withoutdeparture from the scope of the present invention which, generallystated, consists in the matter shown and described and set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A golf ball cleaning pouch comprising'an outer open-mouthed casingformed of flexible waterproof material, the inner surface of whichcasing is slightly tacky to produce a friction grip against othermaterial, and a bag-like lining formed of heavy toweling and receivedwithin said casing and secured to the casing only at the upper edge ofthe lining whereby the major portion of the lining may be pulled out ofthe casing, moistened, wrung out, and then replaced within the casing,and the casing sides will frictionally grip the lining to preventrelativ movement between the lining and the casing as a golf ball isworked back and forth against the lining within the pouch.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, the outer surface of said casingalso being slightly tacky.

3. A golf ball cleaning pouch comprising an outer open-mouthed casingformed of waterproof, flexible, and slightly tacky material, said casingadjacent its mouth having a continuous inturned flange and a bag-likelining formed of heavy toweling and having an open mouth, said liningbeing adapted to fit within said casing and being unsecured to saidcasin except at its mouth, and the mouth of the lining fitting beneathsaid inturned flange of the casing and being there secured to thecasing, the tacky material forming 15 the casing being adapted to gripthe lining when the lining is moistened to prevent slippage between thecasing and the lining as a golf ball to be cleaned is inserted withinthe lined pouch and 5 worked back and forth over the moistened lining.

JOHN K. WETHERBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 fileof this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number

